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Another key data set is deeds data which will allow officials to identify beneficiaries who own or have owned properties, the location of the property, the seller of the property and the date of transfer
This data is useful as a cross check in case beneficiaries were allocated a property in another project
Beneficiaries may have come to own property after receiving a subsidy. In this case, that they own a property should not disqualify them from transfer.
Maturity Roadmap: suggestion for improvement
At present, municipalities and provinces purchase deeds data from private sector providers at significant cost. Ideally, housing authorities should have access to this data directly from the deeds registry via an API that would allow data to be requested and extracted in a specified format. This would enable automated uploading of the data into a database.
At the start of the beneficiary administration process for primary transfers, it is useful to access other data that can help determine the status and / or whereabouts of beneficiaries.
This provides advance warning of the likely challenges that will emerge during the process, and can be useful for resource planning and contracting with conveyancers and other third parties.
It is also critical to validate data obtained from respondents interviewed during occupancy surveys.
There are two key data sources:
Extract data from the HSS in CSV format. Only demographic data should be exported from the system. Follow the steps below to gather the requisite information.
Visit the HSS online
Access the project list page
Locate specific project list
Export the project beneficiaries ID number list for that project
In many cases, ERF numbers were not available at the time beneficiaries were allocated to properties and ‘dummy’ site numbers were used. Thus, the quality of this data is poor and may not provide an accurate picture of the actual property allocated to the beneficiary. This data should be used with caution.
Maturity Roadmap: suggestion for improvement
It is possible to streamline this process by creating an API that would allow data to be requested and extracted in a specified format. This would enable automated uploading of the data into a database
As more information is gathered it is critical that the data is curated properly. There are currently no systems for storing data and the data is typically saved on various spreadsheets maintained by various users who save and edit the data without adhering to any protocols. This makes it very difficult to link beneficiaries to properties or occupants to beneficiaries and to determine the pathway to transfer and next steps.
Nevertheless, even in the absence of a system to store and analyse data, the housing authority must ensure that the data is secured and accessible to authorised project team members only.
All data should be stored in a well-structured, password-protected, and centrally stored database. The database should allow for various users to review and edit data in line with clear data management protocols. The database should allow for additional data to be added from occupancy surveys. It should also allow permissioned users to update data as and when required. It should also allow for some automated analysis to categorise cases and identify next steps.
In some cases, project managers may have spreadsheets containing data on individuals allocated to a site once the development is underway or complete.
These additional sources of data can be useful where occupants are not beneficiaries (as when non-qualifiers were allocated to subsidy units in the case of informal settlement upgrading projects) or where HSS records are not accurate (for instance, HSS data may not have been updated when beneficiaries were removed from the project).
Before using this data, the housing authority should establish how it was collected, how well it was maintained and how accurate it is.
There are often discrepancies between the data on project manager spreadsheets and the data in the HSS. Resolving discrepancies can be time consuming. Municipalities or provinces may therefore prefer to reference project manager data only where a dispute exists or where other data needs to be validated, and primarily rely on HSS records.
A key data source is population register data from Home Affairs which includes data on the status of beneficiaries.
HSS beneficiary data can be cross referenced against Home Affairs data to determine whether beneficiaries are alive, what their current marital status is and in some cases, access data on children.
At present housing authorities do not have access to Home Affairs data and must purchase this data from credit bureaus or other third parties.
Maturity Roadmap: suggestion for improvement
The NDHS should negotiate an MOU with Home Affairs to enable all housing authorities to access Home Affairs data through an API. This will allow the housing authority to request and extract required data on beneficiaries in a specified format, and facilitate automated uploading of the data into a database.
At the start of the beneficiary administration process for primary transfers, existing data on beneficiaries must be extracted from various databases and collated. The key steps associated with this process include: